The rug-trade dictionary — hand-written, trade-correct.

Abaca

Banana-plant leaf fibre from *Musa textilis*; silky, water-resistant, exceptional wet strength.

Bamboo silk

Regenerated cellulose fibre from bamboo — silky sheen at a fraction of mulberry silk's cost.

Desi wool / Indian wool

Robust, springy wool from Indian sheep breeds — naturally textural, well-suited to flatweaves and contract work.

Jute

Coarse plant bast fibre from *Corchorus* species, grown chiefly in India and Bangladesh; used for natural-fibre and layering rugs.

New Zealand wool

Long-staple, high-whiteness wool from New Zealand flocks, prized for premium tufted and knotted rugs.

Pantone

Standardised colour reference system; TPX (fabric-of-cotton) and TCX (fabric-of-cotton) are the paper vs textile chip sets used in rug briefs.

Pom

A small hank of dyed yarn used as a physical colour reference for approval before production.

Sisal

Stiff, hard-wearing plant fibre from *Agave sisalana*. Common in flatweave and high-traffic natural rugs.

Abrash

Subtle colour variation across a hand-knotted rug caused by dye-lot differences between yarn hanks.

Dye-lot

A single batch of yarn dyed together; individual lots may show subtle shade variation vs each other.

GSM

Grams per square metre — the weight-based specification of a tufted or handloom rug.

Knot density / knot count

Knots per square inch (KPSI) on a [[hand-knotted]] rug; higher = finer, more detailed, more valuable.

Pile height

Vertical length of the yarn tufts from the backing surface to the tuft tip.

Dhurrie

Indian flatweave, traditionally in cotton or wool, characterised by geometric or striped patterns.

Flatweave

No pile — warp and weft interlock to create a flat, reversible fabric. Examples: dhurrie, kilim.

Hand-braided

Yarn is braided by hand into ropes, then stitched together in coils or shapes to form the rug.

Hand-knotted

Each yarn tuft is individually tied around warp threads, creating a knot-by-knot pile. The most durable and highest-value rug construction.

Hand-tufted

Yarn is punched through a stretched primary backing with a tufting gun, then a secondary backing is glued on.

Handloom

Loop-pile or cut-pile rug woven on a horizontal handloom, faster than [[hand-tufted]] and denser than [[flatweave]].

Kilim

Anatolian/Persian flatweave, structurally similar to [[dhurrie]] but with distinct motifs and colour vocabulary.

Persian knot

Asymmetric knot — one warp fully wrapped, the other only half — enabling finer detail and curved motifs.

TANA

Warp count — TANA denotes the number of warp threads per unit width; higher TANA = finer weave.

Turkish knot

Symmetric knot — the yarn is looped between both warp threads. More robust and traditional in Anatolian tribal weaving.

Warp

Vertical yarn strands stretched on the loom; the backbone the pile is knotted to.

Weft

Horizontal yarn passed between warp threads; anchors each row of pile.

FF&E

Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment — the loose-goods procurement package on a hotel or commercial project.

MOQ

Minimum Order Quantity — the smallest production run a manufacturer will accept.

GI-tag

Geographical Indication — Indian government registration protecting products with a specific regional origin (e.g. "Bhadohi Handmade Carpet").

GoodWeave

Independent audit-based certification against child, forced and bonded labour in the rug supply chain.

GRS

Global Recycled Standard — Textile Exchange certification for products made from verified recycled inputs with chain-of-custody documentation.

ISO 9001:2015

International quality-management-system standard covering process discipline and traceability.

Oeko-Tex Standard 100

Tests every component (fibre, dye, backing) for over 350 harmful substances against a strict threshold.

RWS

Responsible Wool Standard — Textile Exchange certification covering animal welfare + land management at farm level + chain of custody to finished product.